I put Linux Mint on my parents desktop like 5 years ago and I never had a complaint. They're old printer plugged right in and worked out of the box.
this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2025
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Did the same for my parents. They have a Canon Laser printer from around 2009 and Microsoft stopped shipping a driver for it with windows, and the installer didn't work on anything newer than windows 7 (even In compatibity mode)
Switched them to mint (or maybe it was pop!OS?), expected the occasional call for support. Its been 6 years, since they've called for help.
I downloaded Linux Mint and installed it in my laptop last week, and it's been honestly flawless.
Important tip: linux installs inevitably implode from time to time, as in "I installed something and now I don't have a GUI". Linux Mint comes with a cool recovery utility called something like Time Shift or Time Machine. Two clicks through its user interface and it will set itself up to make snapshots of your system every few days / week so that you can easily restore it back to when it worked.
Congrats on the switch, and yes that's a very important tip. Always have backups and make sure your backups have backups.
I like that Mint really cares about these things and makes it easy for the user to set them up.
Where is the AI integration
In where they put all the ads 
Don't be afraid to try out Fedora either, the Atomics are cool (it's what Bazzite and SteamOS are based on).
There's a ton of really cool distros that all have their neat niches. Once you get out of the locked down ecosystem of windows/macos you get solutions to tons of problems you might not even have known existed.
Bazzite and the other ublue distros are wonderful.
It's so nice knowing you can't really fuck up your machine unless you really try. Being able able to rebase is huge too. Just temporarily try out a different base image without fully reinstalling or booting into a live environment.
I've been running it for several months now and everything about it has has been incredibly solid and trouble-free. You can't tweak out an install the way you can with other distros, at least not without making your own spin, but nothing ever breaks. Perfect for people who want a good experience right after the install finishes.
Yep, I'm considering just switching to fully atomic and just running my environments with toolbx. I do a ton of Python work and I'm basically doing everything with venv and containers anyways.
Already got a Fedora Desktop install that I've tweaked out pretty hard and am dreading a reconfigure lol. Should still do it just to have the stability, I tend to crash my distros when I start going crazy with trying out packages and accidentally break things.
SteamOS is arch iirc
My bad, I know SteamOS is immutable like the atomics and got my wires crossed. Wouldn't be surprised if they do eventually switch to a ublue though since it's being pretty heavily developed and matches their goals.
Linux is the back itching operating system, there's a spot it can reach for anyone.
And if it can't reach, someone will make it reach next year while Microsoft and Apple continue to neglect you.
I hate that I have to use Windows for work (proprietary design software), but I still do most of my development in Linux, and constantly have a WSL terminal open in any working directory so I can have sane filesystem interactions with bash and coreutils.
Edit: OK I'm gonna do baby's first Linux step by creating a virtual machine with Mint on it and trying to install all the stuff I use normally. If it all works out then I might just nuke Windows out of my life!!!
I want to switch to Linux but I absolutely refuse to spend my free time troubleshooting cryptic error messages in a terminal or looking through StackOverflow to accomplish basic tasks that I can already do effortlessly on Windows or Mac, even though Windows and Mac are shittier in a philosophical way. I use the computer for a variety of activities but I am not and will never be a Computer Guy. I need to be allowed to be an idiot on my computer and not have it confront me on that constantly, and I have no patience for jargon-filled documentation that assumes I have been programming since conception.
Am I doomed, or is there a place in the Linux ecosystem for me? It has always felt very exclusive of know-nothings, technologically complex and intimidating, and like a giant pain in the ass. I would love to be wrong tho bc fuck major software corporations.
I guess I can just install it to a USB drive and run it from there and fuck around and see if it works for my needs? and then if so then install it to my laptop's hard drive?
(before you tell me the error messages are not that bad: the following sentence appears in this thread, of which I know none of the words and I do not ever want to:)
The Debian developers have also criticized Linux Mint for mixing Ubuntu software packages with Debian packages, creating "Frankendebian".
The only way to learn is to give it a try. There was a time when you didn't know how to use Windows or MacOS and had to look things up for those--e.g. where certain files are stored. Like you said, boot from USB and mess around with it. It's the same point-and-click, drag-and-drop type of setup as Windows and Mac. I use Ubuntu and don't really have any more problems than I did with Windows. I also hear Mint and PopOS get recommended, but I haven't ever messed around with them.
(Before you tell me the error messages are not that bad: the following sentence appears in this thread, of which I know none of the words and I do not ever want to:)
The Debian developers have also criticized Linux Mint for mixing Ubuntu software packages with Debian packages, creating "Frankendebian".
"The Apple developers have also criticized Microsoft for mixing iOS apps with Windows apps, creating FrankenOS." They're just names of operating systems. You don't really need specialized knowledge. Most applications you probably need are a one-click install in an app store.
You might have to Google "where is x setting", "where is x folder", but you only know that for your current OS because you've been using it for awhile.
I've been very encouraged by the replies and I am going to do exactly that. My perception of Linux has always been that it requires exceptional specialized knowledge and that the community around it has no patience for those who do not already have it, but it seems that that perception is obsolete.
But yeah "Frankendebian" is definitely exactly the kind of nerdery I want to avoid lmao couldn't help but poke fun at it
The goal of Linux Mint is to specifically not be difficult for new users coming from windows and macos.
In fact, the design of the system calls back to the old windows 7 days when computers were not ad slop where the users became the QA testers like it is now. The people at Mint want a no bullshit experience, you are not going to be a beta tester.
If you like computers that will work for you, I highly recommend just doing what you said and trying it out.
It also seems like you have a perception of linux that dates back a decade ago, most of that geeky nerd stuff is gone now. I promise you that you can use Linux mint without ever going into a terminal and typing bespoke incantations.
Also the last part you mentioned is just political discourse, feel free to ignore that. Required reading for that is free software free society on the community sidebar.
It also seems like you have a perception of linux that dates back a decade ago, most of that geeky nerd stuff is gone now. I promise you that you can use Linux mint without ever going into a terminal and typing bespoke incantations.
I think you're right about this part and it's a relief to hear that this viewpoint is outdated. I will give it a try and if I can get it up and running smoothly I will be right back here in this comm telling people that even a dumbass can do it lol. Thank you!
I was going to write a list of every minor issue I've had on Linux Mint since I made the big switch 22 days ago, but honestly I don't want to scare you off it. Just rest assured that I'm a know-nothing and my experience with Linux Mint has been that most things work out of the box, and most issues are minor and have easy solutions, or if nothing else they have decent workarounds until you can be bothered to figure them out properly.
ok I will be brave and try anyway
I’ve had Linux Mint for a few years now. I’ve never once gotten an error message from the system (can’t say the same for my Windows work computer) and I don’t recall if I’ve ever had to use the terminal, if I did it’s been incredibly rare. Admittedly my Mint laptop is mainly just an internet box but also I’m not a computer person by any stretch and it’s been great.
I don’t recall if I’ve ever had to use the terminal, if I did it’s been incredibly rare.
this is the biggest thing i needed to hear thank you
The tales of cryptic bugs and stuff are mostly from power-users running Arch or other "advanced" distros, And Arch being continuously updated to always be on the bleeding edge and everything being completely under control of the user means updates (or the user) are gonna break stuff sometimes. But not every distro is that complicated.
Depending on your distro and hardware, the linux experience can range from everything works out of the box and you never have to touch the terminal to you need to enter a series of commends to have basic desktop environement.
My go to is EndeavourOS. Takes a little work to install and setup, especially if you partition it manually like I did, but once it's done you basically (almost) never have you touch the terminal ever again. Almost never had to do any troubleshooting.
Other beginner friendly distros that work out of the box include (non exhaustive list):
Mint. Very windows-like so good for new users comming from windows.
ZorinOS. Also windows-like. Lightweight, there is a version designed to to run on very low spec hardware, if you have any 5-10+ years old machine that are struggling with windows you can give them a new life with this distro.
POP!_os. A "MacOS-like" distro.
Brazzite. A gaming oriented distro. Very easy to install, can run most games out of the box, including old PC games no longer supported by windows.
This is so helpful thank you!
As an evangelist of Richard Stallman, why do you promote Linux Mint which isn't FSF compliant and also doesn't establish its own Free Software Guidelines?
I've been promoting Linux mint for years on the community description and in Hexbear so I wonder why this never came up until now.
Promoting a free operating system with proprietary components that more people can jump into vs promoting a free operating system with no proprietary components that very few people have training to use isn't much of a conundum for me.
Also are you saying you're an evangelist of Stallman or I am lol. I just link his essay compilation for propaganda purposes.
I'm asking you now because you recently told me to read Free Software, Free Society by Stallman. You have Free Software, Free Society in the sidebar.
Linux Mint is based on Debian and very similar to Debian, except Mint strips the freedom principles from Debian. Mint doesn't respect Libre principles. Debian abides by the Debian Code of Conduct and Debian Free Software Guidelines which stipulates that software in the repository should respect the users of the software.
You can also install the Mint GUI in Debian by installing the "Cinnamon" package. The Debian developers have also criticized Linux Mint for mixing Ubuntu software packages with Debian packages, creating "Frankendebian". Mint just seems like Debian made worse.
Debian even fixed the non-free firmware issue in 2022, by moving drivers and firmware to a separate repository than other proprietary software. So you can limit your system to only free software and non-free drivers, if you choose.
I was (in jest) calling you the evangelist because you had made a post telling me to read Stallman. However, I think it is equally fair for you to call me a Stallman evangelist. If you want to call me a FSF/stallman evangelist, I am not bothered.
I'm not really bothered either, and it's not the first time someone has called me that (not in jest either).
I ultimately dont think this is the right conversation to have... At this point. I was more thinking of the freedom ladder of the FSF, the goal is to give people the tools to further liberate themselves, but we can't expect people to be near the top of the ladder from the get go or we'll never see them climb. I also never thought about free software when installing my first copy of Linux mint nearly 3 years ago, I just hated microsoft with a passion and now I'm here.
This is a Linux mint download button, and that's all it needs to be after the Windows 10 EOL that threatens to create millions of devices of e-waste. We need to meet people where they're at rather than where we want them to (eventually) be.
If you want to have political conversations about this further you can always DM me, but I don't think this is a fruitful conversation to have here when we want to grow in members.
I was (in jest) calling you the evangelist because you had made a post telling me to read Stallman. However, I think it is equally fair for you to call me a Stallman evangelist. If you want to call me a FSF/stallman evangelist, I am not bothered.
Tagline? It made me chuckle at least.
The problem with Debian for a lot of people is that it's too slow to update and the packages are old.
Debian is not slow to update. It intentionally uses a 2 year software freeze model to prevent new software features from introducing bugs or exploits. Software security updates are still pushed regularly. I think there is some sort of exception for Firefox. There is also an optional backports repository.
Linux Mint uses the same update model. Linux Mint has the same 2 year freeze release model as Debian. There's 2 versions of Linux Mint: Ubuntu LTS edition which is a 2 year release model and Debian Edition which is a 2-year release model. You can't say that Mint is better than Debian while criticizing Debian for a thing that Mint also does.
Linux Mint doesn't even manage a full software repository, it only has a partial repository which contains the Linux Mint (Cinnamon DE). If you install the Ubuntu LTS version of Linux mint, it sets your software repositories to Ubuntu LTS repositories and adds an additional Mint repository which only has the latest Cinnamon DE. If you install the Linux Mint Debian version, it does the same thing but with the Debian repositories.
Also Debian just release Debian 13, so all of the software in the repository is pretty fresh right now. Debian 13 was released in August 2025 and the software freeze is based on April 2025
If you want to have a rolling release distro, then you would have to use something that is ArchLinux based. Rolling release distros are prone to more bugs and exploits. For example, the xz-utils ssh backdoor mainly affected ArchLinux, which the exploit never made it past the testing versions of Debian and Fedora.